THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 261 



with a deadly hatred. In the breeding season it rarely con- 

 gregates into large colonies, but a few pairs are scattered up 

 and down the suitable parts of the coast. The rude and 

 somewhat scanty nest is generally made on some inaccessible 

 stack of rocks, and I have taken its eggs from the highest 

 cliffs. Sometimes it selects a small islet in a lake, but no- 

 where does it venture to make its nest unless sure of a con- 

 siderable amount of seclusion and solitude. Its eggs are 

 three in number, the largest of all British Gulls', brown of 

 various tints in ground colour, sparingly spotted with dark 

 brown and gray. The loud harsh notes of this splendid Gull 

 lend a charm to the scenes it frequents. 



Closely allied to the Gulls, but easily distinguished from' 

 them by their cuneiform tails, two species of Skuas must be 

 included among our rarer birds. The first of these is Eich- 

 ardson's Skua (Lestris rickardsoni), which has its breeding 

 stations on the Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys, and Shetlands, 

 and some parts of the northern mainland. It is distinguished 

 from the other British species of Skua by its small size, narrow- 

 pointed central tail-feathers, and black tarsus. It is a bird 

 of rapid powerful flight, and is constantly chasing the Terns 

 and the smaller Gulls to rob them of their newly-caught 

 prey. It is a bold robber, and best described as the Hawk 

 among Gulls, feeding on the helpless young, and stealing the 

 eggs of any species it is able to attack with impunity. It 

 also eats the refuse of the shore, and picks up any floating 

 garbage in its airy flights above the sea. Eichardson's Skua 

 is a summer visitor to our islands, migrating along the coasts 

 in April and laying its eggs about the end of May. It breeds 

 in scattered colonies on the moors of the wild lonely north, 

 sometimes a considerable distance from the sea, sometimes 

 on the hills just above the shore. The nest is a simple one 

 a little hollow scratched out on the open moor, with 

 scarcely any shelter near it, lined with a few blades of dry 



